State allocates money for family center

Children's Hospital CEO says it will be model for nation

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced plans Wednesday to allocate $10 million in state funding toward a new domestic violence center.

The center would combine services of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and Sojourner Family Peace Center.

"Victims of domestic violence need our support to get the resources and protection they need," Walker said in a statement. "These centers will provide better care and treatment for mothers and their children."

The total cost is estimated at roughly $21 million. Walker said the state will provide $10.6 million.

"I've had many near-death situations where I've had actually a gun pulled on me a few times with the gun actually going off once. I've had another situation where I was actually dragged in a truck down an alley, pretty much at full speed, and fell off," Basterash said.

She said she was in bad relationships for more than a decade because she was scared to leave.

The proposed center would help victims in that same position.

According to president and CEO of Children's Hospital Peggy Troy, it would be a model for the country.

"It's never been done in the country. We think that we're going to set up a national best-practice model where it can be replicated in other communities," Troy said.

Basterash said having the resources of the Sojourner Family Peace Center and Children's Hospital in one location will help keep vulnerable women from being exposed to their abusers.

"When you have to travel to go to different buildings, you're taking more of a greater risk of your perpetrator finding you. So when you have all these resources in one building to even have the protection there and sense of security -- is a tremendous step," Basterash said.

Project organizers still need to raise at least $11 million for the project. They said beyond helping abuse victims; they also hope to break the cycle of abuse because often children who are abused go onto abuse partners later in life.